ATHLETICS

HE INAUGURAL Porthcawl 10K event next summer has already attracted over a thousand entries, writes Tony Poole.

Last week that figure was incredibly hit within 24 hours of applications opening for the Run4Wales event that’s being staged in the seaside town on July 7, 2019 (10am).

A raft of other sporting events for children will accompany the 10K run that are aimed at families.

The highlight is a Family Fun Run, giving budding athletes a chance to follow in the footsteps of those competing in the main competition.

Porthcawl is the third stop-off point on the Run4Wales calendar that begins on March 31 with the Cardiff Bay spectacular that will also include star-studded competitors.

Newport is the next destination on May 5 followed by Porthcawl on July 7 with the curtain coming down on the season at Barry Island on August 4.

Last year the inaugural “Barrybados 10K” attracted an incredible 3,500 runners – and Porthcawl are hoping for a similar response. DEAN Williamson (Army AA) last Saturday shot to a second consecutive victory in Porthcawl 5K Parkrun.

The previous week he fired a preChristmas cracker 34 th-best competition time of 16:59 while this time around in the 294th staging of the event, he completed the course in 17:37.

Cold and wet conditions led to just 203 battle-hardened runners embarking on the Wales Coastal Path course from Porthcawl seafront to Rest Bay and back.

Runner-up in a time of 18:29 was Sam Hodge (unattached) from Dave Dickson (Porthcawl Runners) 18:56, Nathan Lee Allen (unattached) 19:04, Jeffrey Thomas (Bridgend) 20:02, Jamie Harrowing (unattached) 20:04, Dave Murray (Bridgend) 20:09, Neil Price (Ogmore Phoenix) 20:23, Michael Furness 20:46 and William Edwards (both Porthcawl Runners) 20:50.

Top female in 13th place was Fleur Jones, who clocked 21:21, to finish in front of Joanne Edwards (both Cornelly Striders) 22:43 (27th), Kat Angell (Porthcawl Runners) 23:06 (34th), Kate Ashton (Cornelly Striders) 23:10 (36th), Bethan Morris (Port Talbot Harriers) personal best 23:13 (37th) and Tracey Bond (unattached) 23:47 (45th). ADRIAN Pearce recorded a time of 19:34 last Saturday to win Maesteg 5K Parkrun for a fifth time.

He finished 19 seconds ahead of Ogmore Phoenix team-mate Niki Puleio with Michael Evans (unat- tached) third in 20:24.

The remaining top-10 places were occupied by newcomers in Christopher Mullaly (unattached) 21:29 and Neil Davies (Cornelly Striders) 21:46 along with Paul Kearns 22:19 and Gavin Forte (both unattached) 23:40.

Top female finisher in eighth position was Kaitlin O’Neill (unattached) who completed the Welfare Park course in 24:08 ahead of Libby Lavis (Brackla Harriers) 24:14 and Connor Griffin (unattached) first-time competitor 24:18.

Third female finisher in 17th spot was Dawn Hopkins (Ogmore Phoenix), and she was in front of newcomer Jenny Sleath (unattached) 26:06 (18th), Sarah Davies (Ogmore Phoenix) personal best 26:39 (22nd) and Jane O’Neill (unattached) 26:52 (23rd). THE third leg of this season’s J H Collins Gwent Cross Country League took competitors to Tredegar Park.

The event - hosted by Parc Bryn Bach Running Club – proved a triumph for James Hunt (Cardiff AAC), who won both the Senior Men and U23 runs in a time of 38:10.

Hunt, who trains with Bridgend, finished 24 seconds in front of Cardiff colleague J Smith while Richard Dando (Bridgend) clocked 48:03 to finish 116 th overall and 45th at 35+ level.

Rob Hunt (Bridgend) registered 47:34 to claim 41st place in the 35+ category; 14th in the 45+ event and second at over-55 level.

In the women’s events top performance came from Katrin Higginson (Bridgend), who came home fourth in the U20 run.

She clocked 22:47 with Elise Thorner (Wells City Harriers) triumphant in 20:29.

Alaw Beynon-Thomas (Swansea Harriers) took the Senior Women’s run in 27:05 with Gina Hardman (Bridgend) recording 34:37 to take 89th place; 35th in the 35+ bracket and 14th in the 45+ section.

The next competition event is at Pontypool Park on February 9 while Blaise Castle in Bristol hosts the final event on March 2. JAMES Hunt (Cardiff) followed up his Gwent League success in last Saturday taking the Welsh Athletics Inter-Regional Cross Country title at Llandrindod Wells.

He completed the 9.94K course in 33:54 to win the event from Abed Teweldebrhan (Newport Harriers) 34:51 and Mark Hopkinson (Torfaen Runners) 35:19.

Top performances from local runners in a field of 157 competitors came from Rob Hunt 41:33 (65th) and Gareth Hardman 46:39 (120th).

Alaw Beynon-Thomas won the Women’s race over 6.3K from her Swansea Harriers colleague Helen Marshall 27:12 and Lucy Marland (Cardiff AAC) 27:25.

Deborah Roberts-Goule (Porthcawl Runners) finished 44th in 31:53 with Gina Hardman (Bridgend) clocking 32:42 (56th).

However, pride of place went to the Girls U13 team – comprising young athletes from Bridgend AC and Cow- RUNNING doesn’t stop for Christmas, and competitors are set to forsake celebrations and participate in four top festive season events.

On Boxing Day there’s a choice between the Porthcawl Five Mile Run and a similar event in Glynneath.

There’s then only one place to be on New Year’s Eve – and that’s the traditional Nos Galan Races around the streets of Mountain Ash.

And things are rounded off on New Year’s Day at the Prince of Wales public house in Kenfig which will once more host the four-mile run that carries its name. ALFIE Smallman (Swansea Harriers) won Bridgend Junior 2K Parkrun for a third time last Sunday.

He took the 162nd staging of the event in a personal best (pb) time of 7:50 having been involved in a sprint finish with Dan May (Cornelly Striders), who also clocked a pb time of 7:54.

It was a third Bridgend victory for young Smallman in 10 visits to Newbridge Fields. And he also sliced nine seconds off a previous best that dated back to November 2016, and a second-place finish to Jack O’Brien (Bridgend) in race number 65.

Third place went to Leroy Griffiths (Rhondda) in 8:45 ahead of two youngsters who both carded pb times – William John 9:06 and Samuel Cubbage 9:08 - while Luke Woodhouse also clocked 9:08.

There were joint-top best female finishes from Mia Allen (Bridgend) and Maddison Mustoe (Cornelly Striders), who both completed the course in 9:26, and behind them came Jack Green 9:44, Mia Amerein 9:46, Eloise Neenan 9:57 and Jack Woodhouse pb 9:59.

A further six personal best times were registered, and these came from Skye Evans, Charlotte Coss, Joseph Lewis, Jacob Coss, Chloe Coss and Ffion Wheeler.